I’ve been going through some intense emotional healing. It’s been a journey over the last 12 years that has taught me to love myself in a way that is healing. I’ve learned to embrace emotions that have been stuffed away deep down inside. They get triggered when something happens and I interpret it as if it were similar to what happened in the past. When I felt the emotion and the pain in my body, I used to push it away. Now, I’ve learned to let the emotion arise without judgment and look deep into it to find “where have I felt this emotion before” in my past.

I go back and find all the different places in my life I’ve felt this emotion and I remember the instances as far back as I can. I let the related thoughts arise and speak out what I’m remembering to help make the connection in my conscious mind. These thoughts reflect hurts and questions of what I don’t understand – thoughts and questions behind the emotion. I then ask for correcting guidance from the divine and let the divine / the spirit of love /God, or the holy spirit, speak to me and determine / discern the lesson I need to see. This is a correction in my perspective that allows me to feel relief, love and peace. As I do this, I feel the heavy emotions release and energy of a higher vibration sooth my body, mind and soul. There are typically tears involved, before the healing and after.

What’s interesting is I realized I learned to stuff those feelings away via well-meaning conditioning. I’ve taught my children to do the same but I’m now teaching them how to navigate these emotions to allow them, bring forth the disconnect and invite correcting wisdom of the divine in to shift perspective. To break the blocks. To heal the wounds.

This process is part of what the song “Accept it All,” from my new album, “Limitless Light & Love,” is about. It’s a song that invites us to feel our emotions, feel whatever comes up – internal and external – in any moment… accepting it without judgment. Knowing that all is well. That sometimes we have to go through what feels like pain to birth a new way of being.

Our lives, our emotional systems.. everything is intelligently designed for our benefit. To help us shift into a place of uncertainty, fear, hurt and tension to relaxation, peace, knowing and bliss. To joy.

Here is the song, (featuring the amazing vocalist, Victoria Canal who is also releasing her debut EP at www.victoriacanal.com, and my dear friend, Ade Anefowose, on percusion)- and you can find the lyrics below:

(“Accept it All” lyrics):

“There’s a feeling we all want
Some times it seems impossible
but it’s truly what you came here for
Let me show you how to feel it more

A feeling once you learn to navigate
Accepting all you contemplate
Let go my friend and don’t resist
Relax and start to feel the bliss

It’s not hard when you choose differently
What you want ain’t always what you think so be here now
Accept it all and just Allow

Everything’s exactly how it should be
Suffering’s resisting what you don’t want to feel
Accept it all & be healed

Whatever comes up in your soul
Recognize it all and just let go
Release the labels, let it flow
Allow and know what you know

If your feelings, thoughts and stimuli
Are all a part of the divine
Then all is well and always is
Trust into that land feel the bliss

It’s not hard when you choose differently
What you want ain’t always what you think so be here now
Accept it all and just Allow

Everything’s exactly how it should be
Suffering’s resisting what you don’t want to feel
Accept it all & be healed

Before you were born, you chose this life
to remember you are love and light
understand that it’s all here for you
a plan to help you know the truth

The divine uses everything
to show you its love
Are you remembering
If there’s ONE thing that you can trust
its you can always count on love

There’s a feeling we all want
Some times it seems impossible
but it’s truly what you came here for
Let me show you how to feel it more

It’s not hard when you choose differently
What you want ain’t always what you think so be here now
Accept it all and just Allow

Everything’s exactly how it should be
Suffering’s resisting what you don’t want to feel
Accept it all & be healed”

I’ve been doing great on the NO REFINED SUGAR diet and have stuck to raw veggies, fruit and soy shakes (with whey protein) throughout the day and a cooked organic, wholesome meals (e.g. rice and beans, fish, veggies, etc.) in the evenings (accept for the last two days.. more below), so I don’t think I’ll post anymore about my life without refined sugar.

I had a follow-up appointment with my Dr. last week to find out why my abdomen was sore only to find out I’m full of $#i!. After all sorts of tests, it turns out I’m not drinking enough water.. .and even though I only eat fruits, raw and cooked veggies, nuts and other healthy meals my wife prepares… my Dr. recommended I DETOX!. Not because of toxins per se, more so to clean my colon.

Enter…. THE MASTER CLEANSE

I love the Master Cleanse detox for so many reasons, not to mention it only takes organic lemons, organic maple syrup (Grade B), cayenne and filtered water to prepare.

Since I first tried the Master Cleanse while on tour with my band, State of Man, a few years back, and LOVED it, I got the Dr.’s approval to do it again. Today is day 2 and my energy is great, not to mention my stomach feels much better!

Last time, I did it for 17 days to detox, but I don’t think I’ll do it quite as long this go round b/c I don’t really want to lose weight. lol We’ll see what happens.

This time around has been much so far… despite my wife making my favorite veggie casadias for the children tonight.. lol.

My friend and amazing human being, Mark Joyner, launched a new site called aYearWithoutSugar.com and I’ve joined him on a quest to go a full year without sugar. Fortunately, I’ve been doing this for a few years already; however, I’m tracking what he’s doing b/c 1. I respect him and 2. I’ve been drawn to finding healthier ways to eat even on my current pescetarian diet.

He has also cut out alcohol in his diet, and though I haven’t been drawn to that yet, the 80/10/10 Diet (my amazon referral link *wink*) is quite interesting to me.

Check out what he’s up to and follow along. Oh… and Its never to late to join in.

Since he posts his daily meals, I figured I’d do the same starting today (in a very similar format).

I recently found out about an assisted living facility in Atlanta called DogwoodForest.com. Now, I’m not about to put my mom in an assisted living facility or anything – as she says, she’s still a “spring chicken,” so no need – but I found out about this company through my job and I gotta say I like their style.

They are one of the only facilities using something called Simple C, a non drug alternative to helping make seniors lives happier. For example, if you have alzhimers, instead of treating you with a bunch of drugs, the staff at this unique community actually create scrap books, scan them and show them to you because science apparently shows it increases brain activity.

Dogwood forest also uses their residents favorite music and other unique behavioral tools to make seniors lives happier. Gotta say, if I did plan to have parents in an assisted living facility, or if I ever decided to retire in an assisted living community, this would definitely be the type I’d go for… (and maybe my mom would even dig it)!

Note: the term Nursing Home seems to have a bad stigma, so I left that alone, but I guess you could consider Dogwood Forest a nursing home with happy residents and staff.